A Pine Wood Derby Miracle

As to not mislead, we did not win the PWD today, but let's just say that producing speedy pinewood derby cars has not been Jared's forte, ever since he helped Caleb make the first Pine Wood derby car of the Harris boys over 5 years ago.  We've certainly had cool looking cars along the way, but we've never had a winner or placed in the top 10.  In fact the year they decided to go with the "swiss cheese" theme for all the boys was a near disaster with cars stopping before they reached the finish line!  Ouch.  Fast forward to 2013 and I believe a new leaf has turned over - and in the nick of time - because after today we'll only have two more boys to get through a few more years of derbys.  What I appreciate about this year's effort was all the work that they themselves put into their cars....there was much cutting, sanding and painting.  Construction began at the church during their den meeting and Grandpa Hill happened to be in town!

Phase 1 with the jig saw

Phase 1 with Grandpa Hill

Now their cars were not slick and shiny and Jonah's insistence on a jeep seemed scrappy to me at first, but it was what he wanted and in the end isn't that what really matters?  So what happened....how did these cars that ended up with more "boy" hours invested in them than "dad" hours win??  Jared says he thinks he has "cracked the code" and has to do with weight distribution, 90 degree axle placement, sanded tires, and a lot of that black stuff that "greases the axles"...graphite.  I also think there was a little luck or good karma involved as well.  What ever it was, it got Gavin to 1st place in the Wolves and Jonah 3rd place in the Wolves (he technically is a Tiger, but we have no Tigers in Pack 127, so here he is a Wolf).  And Gavin got 2nd place overall competing against 2 other packs and narrowly losing the final race-off to the eventual winner, a serious dad-engineered car!!   This was a first for the Harris gang, and oh the joy from Gavin.  He just kept saying that he couldn't really believe that it happened and when someone asked him what he thought made the difference he said "to be happy".   Plus, as he put it to someone else, "My Grandpa Hill helped me!"  Love that!   Liam's green car did well, but not quite as well as the others.  But for the record,  his is the best looking one in our collection and what amazes me is that he actually cut that fin from the scraps of wood left over from his initial curved cuts which he also cut by himself with a jig saw.  He was disappointed that he did not fair as well as his brothers, but he soon moved on and was happy for those around him.  Hard place to be in being that it was his last race.

A few photos for the record:

Liam's cool green "fin" car

Jonah's orange Jeep

Gavin's limousine

2013 Harris pinewood derby cars

Waiting for the first race results

1st place in his heat

The usual reminder from Dad: "It doesn't matter if you win or not..."

Awaiting the start of the final race against one other car

Ooohhhh, can it be real!

The Winner of the Wolves out of three packs

More anxious lip biting

Gavin's Limo: 2nd place overall